NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - UPK Full Day

The UPK class is off to a very successful start. Children have become comfortable with each other and eagerly participate in our curriculum.
We started the year with both a seasonal focus on apples and pumpkins as well as a supermarket study. We have cooked with apples….made applesauce, apple pie, apple muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin muffins and thrown in a pear cake as well. Your children have diced and sliced and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Although most of the children enjoy preparing food, not everyone is as enthusiastic about trying new foods. We encourage them but we don’t force it.
We’ve also collaged apples, sponge printed apple trees, cut paper apples and baked pretend apple pie in housekeeping. We’ve read about apples and pumpkins, using a fabulous selection of children’s literature.
Our loft has been turned into a supermarket where the children may shop, inspired by our trip to the local supermarket. Our children must make their own shopping lists in order to go to our supermarket and thereby gain fine motor pencil skills as they start to make important connections about the relationship of writing (or drawing, scribbling) to communication and meaning. The children loved acting out John Burmingham’s Shopping Basket. They also love singing the Corner Grocery Store a la Raffi.
As you can see, a lot of or art, music, dramatic play, science, social studies and language revolve around our theme, but we are not limited by it.
In addition to special projects, crayons, craypas or markers, are available almost everyday. Either sand, water, rice, cornmeal or salt or playdough is also available almost every day.
We’ve made a book called “What’s for Lunch?,” where each child collaged a page with pictures of food that they like to eat. The children are able to “read” this book. It is still being passed around so that every child in the class will have a chance to share it with their family. We made another book that all the children can read using their favorite cereal boxes. They open the flap and see whose cereal box it is.
We have passed around a class book with pictures of everyone who’s in UPK. In addition we are passing around a copy of Owl Babies by Martin Wadell along with a journal for each child to put in an entry about their feelings when their grownups leave. We hope these books afford families the opportunity to open discussion about what’s going on in school. So please, read the class books out loud with your children.
We’d like to remind families that everyone wants a turn with class books, and we’d really appreciate it if the books were promptly returned. If your child wants more time, let us know and after everyone’s seen the book, perhaps you can have another opportunity to borrow it.
We will be going on a trip to the lake in Van Cortlandt, park. We are so lucky to be guided by Sarah Aucoin, head of the Park Rangers and a former nursery parent. Not only will this trip give the children a wonderful introduction to the natural world, it will also provide us with a common experience from which to base much of our ongoing learning experiences. In the coming weeks we will continue our pond study, as we take a look at some of the autumn happenings including falling leaves.
Looking forward to an exciting year,

Minia, Janet, Lucy, Kirsty, Jean Rogers